Summer is approaching and it's time to start planning for another spectacular long weekend of kiting! Going to the amazing kite spot, East Tawas, MI in June! We are planning on heading there on the Thursday, June 7th and coming home the evening of Monday, June 11th. It will be my last trip there for awhile so I hope you can make it to this one. Everyone is welcome to join us for any length of time. Please come and share in the kiting fun!

Camp with us or rent a cabin. The more the merrier and we usually end up with an extremely fun group to kite and hang out with. We'll be bringing the kiting expedition RV. I have some spare camping equipment so if anyone needs to borrow anything just let me know.

The trip is usually pretty inexpensive. We all bring some food and sometimes cook together. We will be camping at Tawas Point State Park which is right next to the kite spot. We split camping fees so it usually works out to be $10 per person per night. We already have some spots reserved. If you are interested in camping with us please let me know which nights you would like to stay.

Also, there is always the option to camp for free at the National Forest about 15 minutes away.

If you would prefer to stay at a cabin, we have an excellent option for you! A good kiting friend of ours, Carmen, just bought a cabin right on the beach at an amazing kite spot. The cabin is nicely fully furnished and outfitted with all the basic supplies. Since our last trip she has added a hot tub too! She is offering us 3 nights and 4 days for only 200 per person, an amazing deal. Her place is much nicer than the typical Tawas cabin rental. Please let me know right away if you are interested in staying here so we can reserve a spot for you. We'll probably take a field trip here too because it is such a good kite spot and Carmen invites us to launch from her beach!

Ride sharing usually works out well too. Some people only come for the weekend so there are different options depending on what your schedule is. It would be helpful for coordinating if you post your plans here.

One more thing to know about is the Recreation Passport that is required at all Michigan State Parks. Out-of-state residents are required to purchase a $29 annual Motor Vehicle Permit, or $8 Daily permit. If you plan on visiting any other Michigan State Parks or coming to Tawas again, it may be worth buying the annual pass. You need the same pass at Little Sable Point and some other kite spots as well.

I will be teaching lessons and there are also people coming just for fun, to ride and improve. It is the perfect spot for learning and any level of riding. Flat water and shallow over a huge area. This spot works in every wind direction because you can kite on both sides of the bay. Wind is more consistent at Tawas because it is thermal dependant. Ignore the forecast, you have to know what to look for. If you see any warm/sunny conditions with any Southerly flow, it is pretty much a sure thing. Some other conditions bring wind too. There have been so many times that the Chicago area had no wind and we got it good in Tawas.

I'm happy to help anyone out anytime. Always happy to provide occasional tips and lessons are also available. Please let me know as soon as possible if you would like to schedule a lesson during the trip. We'll have lots of demo gear ready to ride too. There are always Ozone and Royal Kites along with Spleene, CrazyFly and BroKite Boards!!!

Jim, looking forward to it! Just booked 4 campsites. Please let me know how many you're bringing and for how many nights to ensure we have enough spots. You know how quickly the campsites get booked there!

I'll be back in town although only temporarily. Heading home to Chicago from Miami Mid-May. Then Stephen and I are off to the Maldives to live and travel around that side of the world for maybe a couple of years. Stephen leaves beginning of June and I'll go over in July. Therefore, I'll be in the Midwest the last half of May and all of June.

Amanda, I'm also planning on joining in. I understand the place is super flat and that pretty much every wind direction is rideable but as far as wind strength, what kind of conditions do you expect to see in June? Is it for the most part super light? If anybody has been there before please chime in. Cheers!

I went last year believe was August or so. Tawas is a strange place to be. It can be blowing one day 25 mph and the next people are riding big size kites. It can change from hour to hour. It was a great trip but there is nothing to do in Tawas after kiting!

Shaping up to be a super fun trip with many people already committed. If you haven't already, please let me know which nights you'll be staying to ensure enough campsite reservations for all of us.

As Maurice explained, you can expect any and all wind strengths at Tawas. It varies from one day to the next and I have used all sized kites there. June can still be very chilly sometimes so bring along the warm gear just in case.

As far as nightlife, the town of Tawas is pretty quiet. However, I always truly enjoy myself spending time with the kiting pals whether swapping kite stories at the local restaurants, cooking around the campfire or out on the occasional crazy midnight boat cruise.

Great to hear that you may be joining us on the trip, we'd love to have you! Tawas Point typically has much warmer water conditions than anywhere on Lake Michigan. It has also been an incredibly warm Spring season so far. However, I am guessing you will probably need at least a full suit. The first time I was there in June it was a bit rainy and chilly although we were happy since we had great wind because of this. I wore a NPX wetsuit jacket over my wetsuit to stay warm.

Mike has an excellent selection and some amazing deals on wetsuits and other accessories. Mike is a great friend of mine and is also very knowledgeable about gear. He would be happy to help you out. Mike's email is Eus@3MEKite.com or give him a call at 708-341-0003.

Seriously considering joining you guys up there during that week... would have my Tahoe w/ 69' Airstream in tow if that were the case. I might give you a call sometime soon Amanda to ask a few more questions.

Looks like we are going to have a great long weekend at Tawas this year! With the incredibly warm temperatures that we've been having, I expect the water will be pretty warm which will be great.

We've got an amazing group of kite friends going with 17 confirmed already! If you haven't done so already, please confirm with me right away if you would like to join us on this trip. Campsites always go fast and I want to ensure that we have enough space for anyone that would like to join.

There will be another IKO instructor, Mary, joining us for the trip so we'll be in good shape for lessons. Mary is super nice, fun and an excellent instructor. There will be lessons for all levels and IKO certifications! Equipment demos will include Ozone, Royal, Spleene and Crazy Fly along with any other gear we end up swapping. I'm guessing West will throw a Brokite board or two our way?

So who all is going to Tawas? Are you ready? Ready to get your kite on? If you can't tell I'm stoked. Came up with an elaborate excuse for work. Quite elaborate. If there is wind, I'll be kiting so long as I can physically stand.

Will be glad to Amanda..... It looks as though you have a great group heading up there, I'm sure y'all will have a splendid time. NICE LONG days to kite till you drop, and a big moon to keep you company around the evening fires !!!!!! Talk with you later this week.....

Looks like it's going to be on this weekend! We look for warm sunny conditions and any Southerly direction. I don't look at wind since it's not a reliable indicator for the thermals. This is what I'm looking at, pretty basic but it's worked for me in the past:

Do you still have room to give lessons on Sunday / and or Monday??? I'm new to kiteboarding, though I have practiced with a trainer a few times and watched ( or more accurately slept through, so I don't know that I actually got anything out of it) the progression " beginner" DVD a couple times. It seems that this would be an excellent way to get into it. Actually, if you have the space, there would be 3 of us interested, myself, my daughter(15yo) and my son(16 yo) ? I have to work sat, so i can't get there till sunday about 9 am, but I can take mon off, and the kids are off school for the summer.. We all have about the same level of exposure to this, (flying trainer, sleeping through the DVD, and a couple days last summer rigging a kite we bought off eBay before we knew any better, and did some bodydragging and floundering around in the surf near st joe mi, which pretty much beat it into my head that we needed lessons so I don't kill one of us. I didn't see this post till today, hope I'm not too late

Jal, I sent you a pm. Looking forward to having the three of you on the trip!

West, thank you very much for offering those demo boards, they are always so much fun to ride! Unfortunately, I have run out of time to pick them up. I am on my way to Cleveland now and will go straight to Tawas from there. If anyone wants to bring a demo board or two to Tawas, please contact West to arrange it.